Mar 30, 2014

After a year of recipe testing, manuscript writing, editing, photo shoots, and everything else that goes into writing a cookbook (and let me tell ya, there is a lot!), I'm SO excited to share three cover designs that (fingers-crossed!) I hope you like as much as I do. But I need your help—I can't decide which one I like best, so I thought it would be fun to let YOU decide!

The design team at Clarkson Potter worked really hard to come up with a cover that would stand out on the shelves. We narrowed it down to three, all photographed by the very talented Penny De Los Santos.

I think C is the most appealing because it looks more clean and appetizing than the other 2. In A, I'm not a fan of the messy look from the pasta residue in the pan, and B lacks color I would like to see- one of the things I love about your recipes is that the variety of veg/other ingredients makes the meals look so colorful and nutritious!

Definitely C. "A" looks messy - like a leftover container. It's not very appealing. "B" has unusual composition - the chicken drumsticks are just floating in space, so although they look tasty they don't appear to be connected to a meal. "C" is the best choice to me because it has good composition, good balance, and looks very tasty.

I don't like the name placement on cover A--it is harder to read the name of the book. Cover B is easiest to read the title, but I don't love the chicken as a sample of what you make. I like the food on cover C the best--but you want the title and subtitle to stand out.

C! It's like all your other recipes that have restaurant quality presentations and taste but then you break them down into a few simple steps and voila! Not only is it healthier, bigger in flavor but also super simple!

B was the first one that caught my eye and it looks like a meal that isn't diet friendly, but is. If that makes sense. The other two look like healthy meals and that can be a turnoff to some people. Fried chicken isn't supposed to be healthy so it intrigues me.

Definitely A. B just looks strange w/ the bits of chicken coating everywhere, and the chicken just tossed about and not arranged on a plate. C just doesn't look appetizing (not a fan of grits). A looks really good, and I like that it isn't perfect (bit of burnt cheese or whatever on the pan handle) makes me think that these recipes were tested by a "real" person and not someone w/ an army of helpers to measure out perfect amounts of every ingredient etc.

They are all great but when pushed to pick, A or C. That comes from someone who has over 500 cookbooks by the way. When it all comes down to it, it is how many great recipes on the inside are there? If the owner is constantly going to that book, you got a winner, regardless of the cover! ;-)

Gina.. you can take or leave these comments but I am a Creative Director. I like the concepts of A and B but I think they would make better covers if the photos were "cleaner." (Because these aren't the types of dishes you would normally see "skinny." And that would draw people in). However, in A & B there are too many crumbs, splotches of sauce, etc. They look a bit messy. I'm not sure if you had a professional shoot those..but the way you normally style and shoot your dishes is more appealing. I would go back into your archives and choose something from there. The general page layouts are really good though... Just need to switch out the shots.

I have been making and sharing quite a few recipes from this site. They always taste great. My favorite cover is A. The title SkinnyTaste stands out the best against the gray and the meal looks delicious. I will purchase this cookbook!

I would suggest C. It's the cleanest looking. Also, if I was shopping around for a healthy cookbook, my eye would not naturally gravitate to the first two as being "healthy". I would likely skip over the first 2 without even reading the title. Congrats on the cookbook!

A or C, B is lacking colour in my opinion. personally, i like A best as the title and dish don't steal eachothers spotlight. i think the recipe in C is a bit to different to appeal to a lot of people. So excited for the book!:)

I think B or C. Personally, I think the "gooey pan of cheesy pasta" dish is a little cliche and overdone for cookbook covers. I like B if you're going for the minimalist look and C for the luscious look. I'd also be most likely to cook B and C (but I'm from the south and maybe that slants my opinion). But honestly I think fried chicken and shrimp and grits are thought of as "never good for you" foods.

I like B. It just "pops" on the page, and looks like something I'd be surprised was skinny. Also, I think if the picture is too complicated/fancy people will believe that they won't be able to easily recreate the dish. Congrats on getting closer to the finish line! Amy M :)

To me, the colours are all boring and very similar. I much prefer the photos on your website as they are the ones that really suck me in to trying your recipes! If I had to choose, I would choose B as like many others, I don't associate fried anything to skinny taste. Congrats on the cookbook, I'm ready to order!

I think cover B, tasty oven baked chicken, best showcases the theme of your cookbook "skinnytaste", Thank you for all of your time and energy formulating the great healthy recipes...I look forward to your cookbook.

' B ", if the chicken drums would be on a plate or something different other then parchment. I was going to say C for visual, but B makes more sense as far as that you can make chicken drums less calories. Could you combine the visual from C with the food from B?

This is a tough one. C looks the best, but we don't have grits in my country so I wouldn't really know what to make of it! B is the second best, but A isn't very nice- it's so generic and not very appealing even though I'm sure the dish tastes great.

Don't get me wrong, I am going to buy your cookbook no matter what but I'm trying to see it from the point of view of someone who doesn't know your website!